Boris Johnson has been accused of a “sickening insult” to the bereaved after he gave honours to allies embroiled in the Partygate scandal, including one dubbed “party Marty”.
Martin Reynolds, his former principal private secretary who boasted “we seem to have got away with” the “bring your own booze” garden party during coronavirus restrictions, has been nominated for a peerage.
There were also honours for Dan Rosenfield, his ex-chief of staff, and Jack Doyle, his former director of communications, both of whom were in office during some of the rule-breaking.
Former No 10 head of operations Shelley Williams-Walker – allegedly nicknamed “DJ SWW” after playing tunes from a laptop during a No 10 party on the eve of Prince Philip’s funeral – was given a damehood.
And there was a peerage for one-time London mayoral contender Shaun Bailey, who was photographed at an apparent lockdown Christmas party at Conservative Party headquarters in 2020.
Labour said it was a “sickening insult that those who planned Covid parties and held boozy lockdown bashes while families were unable to mourn loved ones are now set to be handed gongs by Rishi Sunak”.
The party also denounced the list as “a carousel of Boris Johnson’s cronies”.
Those elevated to the House of Lords include Ross Kempsell, in his early 30s, his spokesperson and tennis partner and a close friend of Mr Johnson’s wife, Carrie.
As a journalist with TalkRadio, Mr Kempsell secured the infamous interview with Mr Johnson in which he revealed he “paints buses” as a hobby.
He was subsequently given a No 10 post by Mr Johnson and appointed head of Tory research with a salary of £90,000 despite protests that he was too inexperienced to do the job.
Charlotte Owen, a former assistant to Mr Johnson, is set to become the youngest person to be awarded a life peerage. It means that Ms Owen, who graduated from university in 2015, will sit in the Upper House after serving less than two years in the No 10 policy unit.
Longtime ally Conor Burns, who infamously claimed Mr Johnson had been “ambushed” by a cake during a rule-breaking birthday party has also been given a knighthood. Others honoured include the former business secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg, awarded a knighthood, and Mr Johnson’s home secretary Priti Patel, given a damehood.
The long-awaited list reignited bitter infighting within the Tory party. One senior Tory MP described the list as “even worse than I thought it would be”.
Fervent pro-Brexit Johnson supporter Nadine Dorries appeared to take revenge on Rishi Sunak over her omission, quitting as an MP, triggering a by-election in her constituency.
There had been much wrangling behind the scenes over a possible peerage for Ms Dorries. She had been expected to stand down as an MP to enter the Lords. But she said her nomination had “gone back to Holac (House of Lords Appointments Commission)” which vets MPs and she quit anyway. The by-election in her Mid Bedfordshire seat could be just as hazardous for Rishi Sunak as Boris Johnson’s marginal Uxbridge constituency.
Another significant ommission from the list was Mr Johnson’s father Stanley, who at one point was expected to be handed a knighthood. The Independent called on Mr Sunak to block that plan and a petition reached 308,000 signatures. Mr Sunak had said at the time of the row, in a swipe at his predecessor, said he would get his own dad a father’s day card, not a knighthood.
Stanley Johnson’s nomination had prompted accusations of further cronyism, after Mr Johnson already nominated his brother Jo Johnson for a peerage in 2020.
It also drew criticism after senior Tory MP Caroline Nokes and a journalist in 2021 publicly accused Stanley Johnson, a former MEP, of touching them at Conservative party conferences.
Ms Nokes, chairperson of the Commons women and equalities committee, accused Stanley Johnson of forcefully smacking her on the backside and making a vulgar comment at the Conservative Party conference in 2003.
Stanley Johnson said after that he had “no recollection” of either incident.
Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper accused Mr Sunak of rewarding “failure”, by not blocking the list.
“The fact that one of the most scandal-ridden prime ministers is now allowed to stuff his cronies in the Lords after a failed premiership tells the British public everything they need to know about this Conservative Party,” she said.
“Boris Johnson caused crisis after crisis in this country – if Rishi Sunak rewards his failure it’s just proof it is one rule for the Conservatives and another for everyone else. The buck stops with Sunak – he must ensure that Johnson’s honours list is put through the shredder.”
